Earlier today, I wrote a post titled, The Senate will probably pass a temporary federal estate tax extension. But as Derek Jensen commented in response to my post, "things are moving fast."
The latest news is indicating that even the probability of a temporary extension is now dead. In Estate Tax Fix Fails, Repeal Likely - US Lawmaker (Dow Jones Newswires, 12/15/09), Martin Vaughan reported the following:
Rep. Earl Pomeroy (D., N.D.), said plans to include a temporary estate tax extension in end-of-year defense spending legislation have been dropped because of Senate opposition.
As a result, he told Dow Jones Newswires, the estate tax will be repealed on Jan. 1 as foreseen by current law, and replaced with an onerous capital gains tax that heirs would have to pay when they sold any inherited assets. . . .
It is regrettable that we're going to have this disruptive period without a permanent resolution," Pomeroy said.
But he said "the prospects are 100%" that Congress will come back next year and reinstate the tax, and make it retroactive to Jan. 1, 2010.
For a detailed analysis of this news, see Derek Jensen's post, They Said It Couldn't Happen (12/15/09).
(I want to extend a special thanks to Derek Jensen for alerting me to this development.)
